Method and System for Delivering Electronic Communications

ABSTRACT

A system directs a browser or browsing application associated with a user to a targeted web site after the user performs at least two activations or “clicks” of his pointing device. The first “click” is typically on a communication provided by the system, serving as an intermediary, and the second “click” is typically on a first data object or web page of the intermediary, before the browser of the user is redirected to a second data object or targeted web page, typically associated with a party unrelated to the party or entity controlling the system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is Continuation of Commonly Owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/369,123, entitled: Method and System forDelivering Electronic Communications, filed on Feb. 8, 2012, which isContinuation of Commonly Owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/350,163, entitled: Method and System for Delivering ElectronicCommunications, filed on Feb. 8, 2006, now, U.S. Pat. No. 8,121,895,which is related to and claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/701,368, entitled: Method And System ForDelivering Behaviorally Targeted “Two Click” Advertisements Over ANetwork Based On Keywords, filed on Jul. 21, 2005, the disclosures ofboth patent applications are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic advertising over networks, such as the Internet, takesvarious forms. One such form is, for example, advertising via electronicmail (e-mail). E-mail based advertising is now regulated by theControlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Actof 2003 (the “CAN-SPAM Act”), 15 U.S.C. §7701, et seq. The CAN-SPAM Actincludes provisions that require the sender of an unsolicited commerciale-mail message to honor the request of a recipient to be unsubscribedfrom further e-mail transmissions of the sender, within ten days of therequest. The CAN-SPAM Act only regulates the transmission of commercialelectronic mail (E-mail). It does not regulate banners.

Producers and service providers may administer their e-mail advertisingthemselves, or outsource some or all of their e-mail advertisingcampaign to various agencies or intermediaries. Outsourcing is typicallydone for economic reasons, to save on costs and liabilities associatedwith e-mail advertising. Additionally, the intermediaries are morefamiliar with the Internet, and have access to multitudes of potentialrecipients.

However, as a result of using intermediaries, the producers and serviceproviders may be unaware of the identity or e-mail address of the e-mailadvertisements' recipients. If a recipient no longer wants to receivesuch promotions, the recipient so informs the intermediary, which isresponsible for the e-mail advertisements' transmission, and is in thebest position to timely halt further transmissions.

Compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act is relatively straightforward for aproducer or service provider that advertises on its own through thetransmission of e-mail. However, when the producer or service provideroutsources their advertising to intermediaries, there may be confusionas to who is the “sender.” This is because the CAN-SPAM act defines thesender of the e-mail advertisement as the party that initiates the emailtransmission and that is advertising its own goods or services in therequisite e-mail transmission. 15 U.S.C. §7702(16).

Those advertisers, who outsourced their advertising to intermediaries inan attempt to absolve themselves of liability under the CAN-SPAM Act,may still be concerned that they are the “sender.” This is because theintermediary is not advertising the intermediaries' services, butpromoting the goods and services of the advertiser, whereby theadvertiser, rather than the intermediary, may be treated as the senderof the e-mail under the CAN-SPAM Act. Moreover, this may be true eventhough the intermediary is actually sending the e-mail advertisement torecipients typically unknown to the party who outsourced the advertisingto the intermediary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This document references terms that are used consistently orinterchangeably herein. These terms, including variations thereof, areas follows.

The term “click”, “clicks”, “click on”, “clicks on” involves theactivation of a computer pointing apparatus, such as a device commonlyknown as a mouse, on a location on a computer screen display, forexample, an activatable link, that causes an action of the varioussoftware and or hardware supporting the computer screen display.

A banner is a graphic that appears on the monitor of a user, typicallyover a web page being viewed. A banner may appear on the web page informs such as inserts, pop ups, roll ups, scroll ups, and the like.

A “web site” is a related collection of World Wide Web (WWW) files thatincludes a beginning file or “web page” called a home page, andtypically, additional files or “web pages”. The term “web site” is usedcollectively to include “web site” and “web page(s)”.

A uniform resource locator (URL) is the unique address for a file, suchas a web site or a web page, that is accessible on the Internet.

A server is typically a remote computer or remote computer system, orcomputer program therein, that is accessible over a communicationsmedium, such as the Internet, that provides services to other computerprograms (and their users), in the same or other computers.

Pay Per Click (PPC), also known as price per click and cost per click,as used herein, is the amount of money that an advertiser, web sitepromoter, or other party who owns or is associated with a web site, willpay to a system administrator for providing their advertisement,listing, link or the like to a user, and the user clicks their mouse orpointing device on the advertisement, listing, link or the like, suchthat the user's browser is directed to the targeted web site associatedwith the advertiser, web site promoter, or other party who owns or isassociated with the targeted web site.

“n” and “nth” in the description below and the drawing figuresrepresents the last member of a series or sequence of servers,components, listings, links, data files, etc.

“Click through” or “click throughs” are industry standard terms for auser clicking on a link in an electronic object, such as an e-mail,banner, listing on a web site, for example, a web site of a searchengine, or the like, and ultimately having their browser directed to thetargeted data object, typically a web site, associated with the link.

The present invention overcomes the problems of the contemporary art byproviding a system, where a user, upon receiving an electroniccommunication from the system, typically an advertisement, performs atleast two activations or “clicks” of their pointing device beforereaching the targeted data object or web page, associated with theadvertisement. The first “click” is typically on a genericadvertisement, provided by the system, serving as an intermediary (whichis generic or not branded with the marks of any specific advertiser),and the second “click” is typically on a first data object or web pageof the intermediary, before the browser or browsing application of theuser is redirected to a second data object or targeted web page,typically associated with the advertiser, for whom the intermediarycontrols the system that is administering the communication oradvertising campaign. As a result of this method and system, theadvertiser is not the “sender” of the e-mail advertisement, as suchadvertisement does not contain the marks or brand of any particularadvertiser, and accordingly, the advertiser can not be a “sender” underthe provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.

An embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for deliveringelectronic content to at least one user. The method includes, providinga first data object to at least one user in response to the at least oneuser activating a link in an electronic communication provided to the atleast one user, the at least one first data object including at leastone link to at least one second data object. This is followed bydirecting the browser of the at least one user to the at least onesecond data object when the at least one link corresponding to thesecond data object in the first data object is activated. The first dataobject is, for example, a web page, typically from the systemadministering the electronic communication, and the second data objectis, for example, a web site or web page outside of the system ornetwork. The electronic communications may be, for example, electronicmails (e-mails) or banners.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method fordirecting a recipient of an electronic communication to a target dataobject. The method includes, causing the recipient to activate at leasttwo activatable electronic objects, and, after the second electronicobject has been activated, providing electronic access to the targetdata object to the browsing application associated with the recipient ofthe electronic communication.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method fordirecting a recipient of an electronic communication to a target dataobject. The method includes, providing an activatable electroniccommunication for the recipient, providing at least one landing page forthe browsing application associated with the recipient to be directedto, when the electronic communication has been activated, and, obtainingat least one link for placement into the at least one landing page, thelink to the target data object, when the electronic communication hasbeen activated. The activatable electronic communication is, forexample, an electronic mail (e-mail) or a banner.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a system fordirecting a browsing application associated with a recipient of anelectronic communication to a target data object. The system includesthree components. There is a first component that provides anactivatable electronic communication for the recipient. The activatableelectronic communication is, for example, an electronic mail (e-mail) ora banner. There is a second component that provides at least one landingpage for the browsing application associated with the recipient to bedirected to, in response to receiving at least one indication that theelectronic communication has been activated. A third component is forobtaining at least one link for placement into the at least one landingpage, the link to the target data object, when the electroniccommunication has been activated.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a programmablestorage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by a machine to perform method steps fordirecting a browsing application. The method steps are selectivelyexecuted during the time when the program of instructions is executed onsaid machine, and include, providing an activatable electroniccommunication for a recipient, the electronic communication being in theform of, for example, electronic mails (e-mails) or banners. At leastone landing page is provided for the browsing application associatedwith the recipient to be directed to, in response to receiving at leastone indication that the electronic communication has been activated,and, obtaining at least one link for placement into the at least onelanding page, the link to the target data object, when the electroniccommunication has been activated. The landing page is, for example, adata object, such as a web page, from the system administering theelectronic communication, and the target data object is, for example, aweb site or web page outside of the system or network.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a programmablestorage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by a machine to perform method steps fordirecting a browsing application. The method steps are selectivelyexecuted during the time when the program of instructions is executed onsaid machine, and include, providing an activatable banner for arecipient. At least one landing page is provided for the browsingapplication associated with the recipient to be directed to, in responseto receiving at least one indication that the banner has been activated,and, obtaining at least one link for placement into the at least onelanding page, the link to the target data object, when the banner hasbeen activated. The landing page is, for example, a data object, such asa web page, from the system administering the electronic communication,and the target data object is, for example, a web site or web pageoutside of the system or network.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method fordirecting a recipient of a banner to a target data object. The methodincludes, providing an activatable banner to a recipient, providing atleast one landing page for the browsing application associated with therecipient to be directed to, when the banner has been activated, and,obtaining at least one link for placement into the at least one landingpage, the link to the target data object, when the banner has beenactivated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Attention is now directed to the drawings, where like reference numeralsor characters indicate corresponding or like components. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an exemplary system on which an embodiment ofthe invention is performed;

FIGS. 1B and 1C are diagrams of exemplary databases for FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a flow diagram of a process in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2B is a detailed flow diagram of the creation of the landing pageof FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a flow diagram of an alternate sub process for obtaining oneor more listings for creating the landing page of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot showing e-mail communications in the mailbox ofa recipient;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of an exemplary graphic of the opened e-mail onthe monitor of a user;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an exemplary banner on the monitor of auser;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of an exemplary template in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7A is a screen shot of a landing page resulting from activating thelink on the e-mail or banner;

FIG. 7B is a screen shot of the landing page with a listing beingactivated by the user;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot showing a web page accessed from a redirectuniform resource locator on the landing web page in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9A is a screen shot of an alternate landing page resulting fromactivating the link on the banner;

FIG. 9B is a screen shot of the alternate landing page with a listingbeing activated by the user;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams of exemplary databases for a secondembodiment of the invention detailing an alternate arrangement of thedatabases of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram detailing a process in accordance with thesecond embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12A is a screen shot of a first landing page in accordance with thesecond embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12B is a screen shot of the first landing page with one of itslistings being activated;

FIG. 13A is a screen shot of a second landing page in accordance withthe second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13B is a screen shot of the second landing page with one of itslistings being activated; and,

FIG. 14 is a screen shot showing a web page accessed from a redirectuniform resource locator on the landing web page in accordance with thesecond embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Throughout this document, textual and graphical references are made tofictional trademarks as well as Internet addresses (Uniform ResourceLocators, also known as URLs). These trademarks and Internet addressesare fictitious and for explanation purposes only, and any associationwith any party or other entity is coincidental, unintentional andunrelated thereto. Throughout this document, numerous textual andgraphical references are made to trademarks. These trademarks are theproperty of their respective owners, and are referenced only forexplanation purposes herein.

The invention includes a system that directs a browser or browsingapplication associated with a user to a targeted data object, typicallya web site or web page, after the user performs at least two activationsor “clicks” of his pointing device. The first “click” is typically on acommunication or provided by the system, serving as an intermediary, andthe second “click” is typically on a first data object or web page ofthe intermediary, before the browser of the user is redirected to thesecond data object or targeted web site or page, typically associatedwith a party unrelated to the enterprise, party or entity, or the like,that controls the system.

FIG. 1A shows the present invention in an exemplary operation. Thepresent invention employs a system 20, formed of various servers andserver components, that are linked to a network, such as a wide areanetwork (WAN), that may be, for example, the Internet 24.

There are, for example, at least three kinds of servers that form thesystem 20. These servers typically include a Home Server (HS) 30, one ormore servers (CS) 34 a-34 n associated with content providers, and animaging server (IS) 38. These servers 30, 34 a-34 n and 38 are linked tothe Internet 24, so as to be in communication with each other. Theservers 30, 34 a-34 n and 38 include multiple components for performingthe requisite functions as detailed below, and the components may bebased in hardware, software, or combinations thereof. The servers 30, 34a-34 n and 38 may also have internal storage media and/or be associatedwith external storage media.

The servers 30, 34 a-34 n, 38 of the system 20 are linked (eitherdirectly or indirectly) to an endless number of other servers and thelike, via the Internet 24. Other servers, exemplary for describing theoperation of the system 20, include a domain server 39 for the domain(for example, the domain “xyz.com”) of the user 40 (for example, whoseelectronic mail (e-mail) address is user@xyz.com), linked to thecomputer 41 of the user. Still other servers may include third partyservers (TPS) 42 a-42 n, controlled by content providers, web sitepromoters, and the like. The advertising or informational campaigns,that will utilize content from the content servers (CS) 34 a-34 n, thatprovide links to the third party servers (TPS) 42 a-42 n, is typicallyadministered by the party or entity controlling the home server (HS) 30.

While various servers have been listed, this is exemplary only, as thepresent invention can be performed on an endless numbers of servers andassociated components, that are in some way linked to a network, such asthe Internet 24. Additionally, all of the aforementioned servers includecomponents for accommodating various server functions, in hardware,software, or combinations thereof, and typically include storage media,either therein or associated therewith. Also in this document, theaforementioned servers, storage media, and components can be linked toeach other or to a network, such as the Internet 24, either directly orindirectly.

The Home Server (HS) 30 is of an architecture that includes components,such as databases and caches 43 a-43 n modules 44 a-44 n (some modules44 a-44 c specifically shown and discussed) and the like, for handlingnumerous operations and applications. The home server (HS) 30 is shownfor example, as a single server, but it may be made up of numerousservers along the public network (i.e., the Internet 24) or along alocal network, or combinations thereof. The databases and caches 43 a-43n and modules may be in single or separate components, as described forthe home server (HS) 30.

One such operation and application of many, performed by the home server(HS) 30, includes electronic mail, and performing associated electronicmail (e-mail) functionalities (an e-mail module 44 a), such as recordingclicks to open and respond to the electronic mail, as well as recordclick throughs to targeted web sites. The architecture also includescomponents for providing numerous additional server functions andoperations, for example, comparison and matching functions, policyand/or rules processing, various search, distribution optimizationfunctions (as detailed below) and other operational engines.

Similar to the e-mail functionalities listed above, the home server (HS)30 may also include an architecture (including databases and caches 43a-43 n and modules 44, for supporting banners 44 b and other electroniccommunications. The architecture includes components, modules and thelike, for handling banners, to perform banner server functionality,including banner applications.

While caches 43 a-43 n and databases are shown, this is exemplary only,for explanation purposes. The Home Server (HS) 30 may be associated withadditional caches, databases, as well as numerous other additionalstorage media, both internal and external thereto.

The Home Server (HS) 30 includes various processors, includingmicroprocessors, for performing the aforementioned server functions andoperations. It also includes storage media, either internal orassociated therewith, such as databases and caches 43 a-43 n. FIGS. 1Band 1C, detailed below, shows diagrams of the databases and caches 43a-43 n, with some databases and cashes specifically shown and discussed.The databases and caches may also include other data structures for datastorage and manipulation.

In addition to the e-mail 44 a and banner 44 b modules, discussed above,another module that operates in conjunction with the e-mail 44 a andbanner 44 b modules is a decision module 44 c. The decision module 44 cmay be programmed to randomly send e-mails and banners. However, it mayalso be programmed to send the specific e-mail or banner in accordancewith a behavioral analysis of the recipient of the e-mail or banner, whohas responded to the e-mail or banner. For example, this module 44 canalyzes the time between the sending of the e-mail or banner and theresponse, the time of day the response, whether the recipient hasresponded to other sent e-mails and banners and whether or not theyclicked through to the targeted web page, in the case of banners, theweb site or web page being browsed, the PPC value for various web sites,and other factors. The module 44 c may also perform a distributionoptimization function (DOF), as detailed in commonly owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/294,188, entitled: Method and System forGenerating and Distributing Electronic Communications for MaximizingRevenue, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

The Home Server (HS) 30 composes and sends e-mails to intendedrecipients (for example, e-mail clients hosted by a computer,workstation or other computing device, etc., associated with a user),over the network, typically a wide area network (WAN), such as theInternet. The home server (HS) 30 receives responses and othercommunications sent from the e-mail clients associated with the computerof a user. The e-mail clients may be, for example, America Online®(AOL®), Outlook®, Eudora®, or other web-based clients. In this document,the client is an application that runs on a computer, workstation or thelike and relies on a server to perform some operations, such as sendingand receiving e-mail. Also, for explanation purposes, the Home Server(HS) 30 may have a uniform resource locator (URL) of, for example,www.homeserver.com. The process of sending the request from the homeserver (HS) 30 and returning the request to the home server (HS) 30, isfurther detailed below.

For example, the intended recipient or user 40 has a computer 41 (suchas a multimedia personal computer with a Pentium® CPU, that employs aWindows® operating system), that uses an e-mail client. The computer 41is linked to the Internet 24.

Content servers (CS) 34 a-34 n may include servers that perform searchengine functions and the like, for example, based on one or more words,commonly known as keywords. For example, these servers 34 a-34 n,representative of a multitude of content servers, provide content,typically in text form, typically of listings that cover links totargeted web sites. The text is for the imaging server (IS) 38 toconvert to an image, with the text delivered to the imaging server (IS)38 typically through the Home server (HS) 30 or directly from thecontent server (CS) 34 a-34 n, as detailed further below. The contentservers (CS) 34 a-34 n, typically perform their functions in response toa request from the Home Server (HS) 30, based on a designatedkeyword(s). These content servers (CS) 34 a-34 n may be, for example,Pay-Per-Click (PPC) servers of various content providers, such asinternal providers, or external providers.

At least one imaging server (IS) 38 is linked to the Internet 24. Theimaging server (IS) 38 functions to convert text (data in text format)from the content servers (CS) 34 a-34 n, as received through the HomeServer (HS) 30, to an image (data in an image format). After conversioninto an image, the image is typically sent back to the Home Server (HS)30, to be placed into a template for a landing page (typically a webpage administered by the home server (HS) 30), in response to anelectronic communication, for example, an e-mail or banner, being“clicked” on or activated by a user.

Turning also to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an exemplary implementation of aprocess in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention willnow be described. Specifically, FIG. 2A is the overall process, whileFIG. 2B is a detailed flow diagram of the process of creating thelanding page of FIG. 2A.

Turning to FIG. 2A, at block 102, an electronic communication isprovided to a user. The electronic communication is typically sent fromthe home server (HS) 30 or a server or other apparatus affiliatedtherewith, and may be, for example, an e-mail, or a banner.

When an e-mail is sent, it appears in the mailbox of a user, forexample, the user 40, whose e-mail address is user@xyz.com, as shown bythe screen shot of FIG. 3A. The particular e-mail is shown by the area160 in the shaded lines (for emphasis only). It is opened by the user byclicking their pointing device 51 (FIG. 1A) on their monitor 48, asindicated by the arrow 162. The e-mail includes an identifier, that issent back to the home server (HS) 30 in data created when the e-mail isopened.

For example, turning also to FIG. 1B, the identifier, that is sent back,is matched with the identifier in the database 43 a, that pulls e-mailtext from the database 43 b, sends this text to the imaging server (IS)38, and to the user's e-mail client. In accordance with this example, ifidentifier 1001 is sent back, there is a corresponding e-mail textidentifier, i.e., ET001, that is also in the database 43 b, such thatcorresponding text for baseball is pulled from the database 43 b andsent to the imaging server (IS) 38. Throughout this process the e-mailfor baseball carries the identifier 2001, as contained in the databases43 a and 43 c.

A graphic 164 appears on the monitor 48 of the user 40, the graphic 164shown in the body 166 of the opened e-mail, in the screen shot of FIG.4. Within this graphic 164 of the e-mail, there is an activatablelocation 170, that covers a link to a data object, typically a web pageor landing page, detailed below, and is shown, for example, in FIGS. 7Aand 7B. There is also an area 173, typically with a graphic as to aprocedure for unsubscribing and an activatable portion 174, for example,the words “click here”, that cover a link where the unsubscribeinformation is input.

Alternately, with banners, as shown in FIG. 5, a banner 180 is sent to aweb page 182, such that the banner 180 overlays the web page 182. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1C, the banner sent includes an identifier,and a text identifier, from the database 43 a′, and text for therequisite banner, in the database 43 b′. This text is sent to theimaging server (IS) 38, that sends the banner to the home server (HS)30, for its being sent to the requisite web page being browsed by therequisite user. For example, in the case of a banner for baseball, thebanner would carry the identifier 2001, as contained in the databases 43a′ and 43 c′. This identifier 2001 is associated with a banner textidentifier, i.e., BT001 that will identify the requisite banner text inthe database 43 b′ (this text is sent to the imaging server (IS) 38 andthen back to the home server, for sending to the requisite web page).The banner 180 includes a graphic 184 with an activatable location 185,that covers a link, to a web page, or landing page, detailed below.

The decision to send a particular e-mail or banner to a particularrecipient or web browser, may be random. Alternately, for example, thee-mail or banner sent may be decided in accordance with a behavioralanalysis of the intended recipients, or a distribution optimizationformula, as discussed above. The module 44 c may also monitor thenetwork 24 in performing its applications.

The process continues at block 104, where a response is received fromthe user. The response is, for example, initiated by a click onrespective activatable location 170, 185. The click produces data, thatis sent to the home server (HS) 30. The sent back data is input for thehome server (HS) 30. The sent back data typically at least an identifieror unique identifier of the e-mail that is being responded to. Forexample, if the above discussed baseball e-mail or banner was sent, thesent back data would include the identifiers 1001 and 2001, respectivelyof databases 43 c and 43 c′ respectively, that are associated with thekeyword “Baseball” in these databases. The sent back data may alsoinclude one or more keywords, requests, and other data necessary togenerate the requisite landing pages (detailed below).

With the input received in the home server (HS) 30, the process moves toblock 106, where a landing page 191 is created.

The landing page is typically created dynamically, in that its content,typically listings and their corresponding underlying links, areobtained contemporaneous, and typically, immediately after, receipt ofthe input at the home server (HS) 30, as the keyword or other identifieris sent to the content server(s) (CS) 34 a-34 n to obtain listings andthe corresponding underlying links. For example, the process ofdynamically obtaining the listings may be in accordance with theprocesses detailed in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/915,975, entitled: Method and System for Dynamically GeneratingElectronic Communications (U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0038861), the disclosures of which are incorporated by referenceherein. Accordingly, the user, whose input is received at a first time,typically receives a different landing page than a user whose input isreceived at a second time, after the first time. This is because theorder of listings and their underlying links on the respective contentservers (CS) 34 a-34 n is constantly changing. Caching, an alternateembodiment detailed below, may result in multiple users, receiving thesame landing page, but even cached listings may be reordered upon thecreation of the landing page.

The landing page may initially appear in the form of a template 190,with a space for a main image 192 and spaces for listings 194 a-194 e,as shown in FIG. 6. For example, turning to FIGS. 1B and 1C, theidentifiers (1001 and 2001 both associated with the keyword “baseball”in the databases 43 c and 43 c′ respectively) are associated with alanding page template identifier, e.g., EL001 for identifier 1001 andBL001 for identifier 2001, respectively, in the respective databases 43c, 43 c′, that is used to access the respective template, from therespective database 43 d, 43 d′.

The template 190 is filled, as detailed below and shown in FIG. 2B, aspulled text (from the requisite content server(s) (CS) 34 a-34 n) isconverted to images in the imaging server (IS) 38 and sent to the homeserver (HS) 30 for placement into the template 190, and the landing page191 is completed or built out. The build out includes rendering text asimages, through the imaging server (IS) 38, into the template 190. Therendered images result in the landing page 191, for example, as shown inFIG. 7A, the landing page 191 having a main image 193 with listings 195a-195 e over links to data objects, for example, targeted web pages. Thelanding pages are typically web pages.

Once the landing page is created, the browser of the user is directed toa data object, typically the now created landing page, at block 108.Turning also to FIG. 7B, when the respective listing 195 a-195 e isactivated or “clicked” (as shown by the arrow 197), the correspondinglink is activated, and the browser of the user is directed to thetargeted web site, associated with the listing and link.

For example, in the case of the keyword “baseball”, the browser of theuser would be directed to the URL www.homeserver.com/baseball, in orderto access the landing page for the keyword baseball, such as that shownin the screen shot of FIG. 7A. This screen shot appears on the monitor48 of the user 40.

The user 40 may then activate one of the links, by directing theirpointing device 51 to one of the listings 195 a-195 e, that covers therequisite link, as indicated by the arrow 197 at FIG. 7B. For example,the user 40 seeks the listing for “baseball cards.” Upon clicking on thelisting 195 a, the underlying link is activated, this activationcreating electronic data that is input, and is received in the homeserver (HS) 30. With the input received, the browser of the user(browsing application) is redirected to a second data object, typically,a targeted web site associated with the listing and underlying link, atblock 110.

The target web site may be hosted by one of the third party servers(TPS) 42 a-42 n. For example, with the listing 195 a clicked, the linkis activated, such that the browser (browsing application) of the useris directed to the targeted web site, for example, the web site with theURL www.bigbaseballcards.com. This results in the screen shot of FIG. 8,appearing on the monitor 48 of the user 40. The results of each click,and ultimate “click through” for the e-mail and banners, may be stored,for example, in the databases 43 e, 43 e′, respectively. Moreover, withthe link activated by the click on the listing 195 a, the browser(browsing application) of the user is now outside the system or network,that delivered the electronic communication and landing page.

Returning to block 106, and turning to FIG. 2B, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C,the process for preparing the landing page (for example, the landingpage 191 of FIG. 7A) is now detailed. Initially, in the response to theactivated e-mail or banner 184 (the “click” at locations 170 and 185respectively, thereon by the user), as detailed above, an identifier orunique identifier, indicative of the particular e-mail sent to the useror banner, is sent back to the home server (HS) 30. The identifier orunique identifier, that is sent back to the home server (HS) 30 by theuser “clicking on” the e-mail or the banner, is matched with thecorresponding identifier in respective databases 43 c, 43 c′. Thisidentifier in the database is matched with one or more keywords, and anidentifier (ID) for text for a particular template, that supportsgraphics, that are rendered by the imaging server (IS) 38. Once thekeyword(s) is found in the database, the template for the keyword(s) isactivated, at block 106 b.

The keyword(s) is then submitted to a content server (CS) 34 a-34 n,also functioning as a keyword server, for example, a server thatoperates a search engine or other data pulling application, at block 106c. For example, with e-mail, should identifier 1001 have been returned,the corresponding word “baseball” from database 43 c is the keyword thatis provided to the requisite content server(s) (CS) 34 a-34 n.Similarly, for example, with banners, should identifier 2001 have beenreturned, the corresponding word “baseball” from database 43 c′ is thekeyword that is provided to the requisite content server(s) (CS) 34 a-34n.

The search engine or data pulling application, obtains listings withlinks corresponding to the keyword(s), at block 106 d. The links aretypically to data objects, for example, targeted web sites (or targetedweb pages). Based on the rules of the requisite template, the requisitelistings, with their corresponding links to data objects, are importedinto the requisite template at the requisite locations, at block 106 e.One or more listings with links may be imported into the template fromone or more content servers (CS) 34 a-34 n, search engines and the like.The imported listings with links are placed into locations 192 a-192 ein the template 190, in any desired order, at block 106 e. For example,with the keyword “baseball”, listings with links are placed at locations192 a-192 e in the template 190 of FIG. 6. The order of the listings maybe, for example, in accordance with pay per click (PPC) values (storedfor example, in the requisite databases 43 f, 43 f).

Alternately, turning to FIG. 2C, there is detailed an alternate subprocess of obtaining listings, as per block 106 d of FIG. 2B. The subprocess may be performed by sub processes including caching thelistings, along with their links, for example, in the listing caches 43g, 43 g′ (FIGS. 1B and 1C). This way, at a subsequent time, whenlistings for the same keyword(s) are sought, the listings are taken froma cache, as opposed to going to outside sources on the network, forexample the content servers (CS) 34 a-34 n, search engines, etc. Theprocess for creating the landing the page is similar to that of FIG. 2Babove, except as to the method for obtaining the listing(s) for thekeyword(s).

Initially, starting from block 106 c, the identifier, keyword, or bothis checked in the databases and caches 43 a-43 n, to see if there is acache that includes listings, stored for the requisite identifier and/orkeyword, at block 122. If there are listings in the cache for thiskeyword and/or identifier, the requisite number of listings, inaccordance with any desired order or rank, are pulled for acorresponding number of positions in the template (for example,positions 194 a-194 e in FIG. 6), at block 124.

Alternately, if the requisite cache is empty at block 122, the listingsand their links are pulled from sources, at block 126. The pulling oflistings from sources at block 126 is in accordance with the sub processdetailed in block 106 d above. The listings pulled from the sources atblock 126 are then cached (placed into a cache for the particularkeyword(s) or identifier(s)) at block 126, and the process moves toblock 124, where the requisite number of listings, in accordance withany desired order or rank, are pulled for a corresponding number ofpositions (for example, positions 194 a-194 e in FIG. 6) in thetemplate.

For example, in the case of both e-mail and banners, the respectivelisting caches 43 g, 43 g′ may be full of listings (Listing 1 to Listingn) for the respective identifiers 1001 and 2001 and the correspondingkeyword “baseball”, from a previous data pull (detailed above).(Additional listing caches are part of the homer server (HS) 30, but arenot shown as they are similar to the listing caches 43 g, 43 g′, foreach identifier/keyword combination). In this case, upon return of theidentifier in the sent-back data from the specific e-mail or banner(being “clicked”), the identifier is matched, whereby the landing pagetemplate IDs, i.e., EL001 and BL001, will be used to obtain thecorresponding landing page template in the respective databases 43 d, 43d′. The number of listings supported by the template will be taken fromthe cached listings (Listing 1 to Listing n), to fill out thecorresponding positions in the template with listings and an underlyinglink to a targeted web site associated with each listing.

From block 124, the process moves to block 106 e of FIG. 2B. The processcontinues as detailed above.

Once the pull of the requisite number of listings, corresponding to thenumber of positions for listings in template, has been made, orcontemporaneous or simultaneous with the pull, the requisite cache maybe cleared, at block 132. This clearing is typically by a rule. If thecache is cleared, the cache will be empty, at block 134. This emptystatus for the requisite cache will be the status of the cache at block122, for the next occurrence of the keyword(s) or identifier. The cachemay remain full until potentially cleared by a timeout, or other rule,at block 136. If the cache is cleared by the timeout, the process movesto block 134, as detailed above. Otherwise, the cache remains full, asthere has not been a timeout. The full status for the requisite cachewill be the status of the cache at block 122, for the next occurrence ofthe keyword(s) or identifier.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 9A and 9B, that show an alternatemethod for the banner 180 of FIG. 5. When the banner 180 is “clicked on”at the location 185 over the link, the landing page 291 is created, inaccordance with any of the processes and sub processes detailed aboveand shown in FIGS. 2A-2C. Components of the landing page 291, similar tothose of the landing page of FIG. 7A are labeled similarly, withnumbering in the corresponding 290's. The landing page 291 is positionedin the banner 180.

Turning to FIG. 9B and similar to the landing page 191 of FIG. 7B above,the user may “click” on the desired listing. For example, as indicatedby the arrow 297 on the listing 295 a, the “click” on this particularlisting 295 a, will redirect the browser of the user 40 to the targeteddata object, typically, the targeted web site, for example, the web siteof FIG. 8, as detailed above.

FIGS. 10A-14 show an alternate method and system for creating multiplelanding pages or data objects, prior to the browser redirect to thetarget data object or web site. FIGS. 10A and 10B show alternatedatabases and caches for the databases and caches 43 a-43 n of thesystem of FIG. 1A and detailed above. The system and method in FIGS.10A-14 is operable with both e-mail and banners, in accordance with theembodiments detailed above, and the processes detailed above and shownin the flow diagram of FIG. 11.

Following the flow diagram of FIG. 11, at block 502, the electroniccommunication is provided to the user, typically as either an e-mail orbanner, as detailed above in block 102. A response is then received fromthe user, typically data including a campaign identifier, as the user“clicks” on the requisite portions of the opened e-mail 170 of FIG. 4,or 185 of FIG. 5, at block 504 (similar to block 104 detailed above).

For example, each e-mail and banner includes a campaign identifiercorrelated to a text identifier in databases 43 aa and 43 aa′,respectively. This text identifier is used for accessing the text of therequisite e-mail or banner from the respective database 43 bb, 43 bb′.

A first landing page is then created, based on the data sent to the homeserver (HS) 30 in response to the user's “click” on the open e-mail orbanner, at block 505 a. For example, the user's “click” causes data witha campaign identifier, associated with the e-mail or banner received bythe user, to be sent to the home server (HS) 30. The campaign identifieris matched with the corresponding campaign identifier in the database 43cc and 43 cc′. The campaign identifier is associated with a keyword, anda landing page text identifier. The landing page text identifier will beused to obtain text for the corresponding landing page, the text storedin the databases 43 dd, 43 dd′ respectively.

The text is typically for a main image (when processed through theimaging server (IS) 38) and one or more images (when processed throughthe imaging server (IS) 38) for listings covering links. The links aretypically to the home server (HS) 30 and each link includes anidentifier for another or subsequent landing page. The user's browser isdirected to this first landing page, at block 505 b, for example, thelanding page 531 shown in FIG. 12A. The landing page 531 includes amajor image 533 and listings 535 a-535 e, that cover the aforementionedactivatable links (to the homer server (HS) 30), to a subsequent landingpage.

For example, turning to FIGS. 10A and 10B, should the campaign be for“baseball,” the campaign identifier for this campaign is 3001 for e-mailand 4001 for banners. Upon opening the e-mail or banner, the data sentback from the opened e-mail or banner includes the campaign identifier3001 or 4001. This campaign identifier is matched with the campaignidentifier in the respective database 43 cc, 43 cc′, i.e., 3001 fore-mail and 4001 for banners. The campaign identifiers are correlatedwith the keyword “Baseball” and a landing page text identifier (ID),i.e., EL3001 for e-mail and BL4001 for banners. The text for thecorresponding landing page is then obtained from the respectivedatabases 43 dd, 43 dd′. When the requisite landing page has beenobtained and the user's browser is directed to this landing page, thelistings in the landing page each have landing page listing identifiers(ID), i.e., 6001-6005 for the landing page EL3001, for e-mail, and7001-7005 for the landing page BL4001, for banners.

For example, the user then “clicks” on one of the listings, the “click”shown by the arrow 540, on the listing 535 e, of the landing page 531,as shown in FIG. 12B. As a result of the “click”, data, including atleast an identifier, is sent back to the home server (HS) 30. Once thisdata is received, a second landing page is created at block 506.Creation of this second landing page is similar to that for block 106 ofFIGS. 2A-2C detailed above, except two or more separate keywords(illustrated as separate by their separation with the plus sign “+”) aresent to the keyword server(s) (content server(s) (CS) 34 a-34 n), cachesor the like, to pull listings with underlying links.

The second or subsequent landing page 591 is shown in FIG. 13A, to whichattention is now directed. This landing page 591 is similar to thelanding page of FIG. 7A, with corresponding elements numbered in the590's. The landing page 591 includes a major image 593 and listings 595a-595 e, that cover links, that when activated will ultimately directthe browser or browsing application of or associated with a user to atargeted web site, for example, hosted by one of the third party servers(TPS) 42 a-42 n (FIG. 1A).

For example, turning to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the “click” on the listing595 e sends data including landing page identifiers 6005 if from e-mailand 7005 if from banners, to the respective databases 43 ff, 43 ff′. Thecorresponding template identifier ELP6005 for e-mail, and BLP7005 forbanners, is used to obtain the requisite template from the respectivedatabases 43 gg, 43 gg′, and the corresponding keywords “baseball” and“tickets” (expressed as “baseball+tickets”), are sent to one or morecontent servers (CS) 34 a-34 n, functioning as keyword servers. Caches43 hh for e-mail, and 43 hh′ for banners, function in conjunction withdatabases 43 gg and 43 gg′, respectively, if listings are obtained fromcaching as detailed above. (Listing caches for all other landing pagelistings are not shown, as they may be created similar to that forlisting IDs 6001 and 7001).

Once the landing page is created, the browser of the user is directed toa data object, typically the now created landing page, at block 508(similar to block 108 as detailed above). Turning also to FIG. 13B, forexample, when the respective listing 595 a-595 e on the landing page 591is activated or “clicked” (as shown by the arrow 597), the correspondinglink is activated, and the browser of the user is directed to thetargeted web site, associated with the listing and link.

For example, in FIG. 13B, the user 40 seeks the listing for Rix Tixx, abusiness selling baseball game tickets. Upon clicking on the listing 595e, the underlying link is activated, this activation creating electronicdata that is input, and is received in the home server (HS) 30. With theinput received, the browser of the user is redirected to a second dataobject, typically, a targeted web site associated with the listing andunderlying link, at block 110. For example, the underlying link for thebrowser redirect would include the URL for the targeted web site, herefor example for Rix Tixx, www.rixtixx.com, illustrated by the exemplaryscreen shot of FIG. 14.

The above described methods (processes), including portions thereof, canbe performed by software, hardware and combinations thereof. Theseprocesses and portions thereof can be performed by computers,computer-type devices, workstations, processors, micro-processors, otherelectronic searching tools and memory and other storage-type devicesassociated therewith. The processes and portions thereof can also beembodied in programmable storage devices, for example, compact discs(CDs) or other discs including magnetic, optical, etc., readable by amachine or the like, or other computer usable storage media, includingmagnetic, optical, or semiconductor storage, or other source ofelectronic signals.

The processes (methods) and systems, including components thereof,herein have been described with exemplary reference to specific hardwareand software. The processes (methods) have been described as exemplary,whereby specific steps and their order can be omitted and/or changed bypersons of ordinary skill in the art to reduce these embodiments topractice without undue experimentation. The processes (methods) andsystems have been described in a manner sufficient to enable persons ofordinary skill in the art to readily adapt other hardware and softwareas may be needed to reduce any of the embodiments to practice withoutundue experimentation and using conventional techniques.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, so as to enable one of skill in the art to practice thepresent invention, the preceding description is intended to be exemplaryonly. It should not be used to limit the scope of the invention, whichshould be determined by reference to the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for advertising goods or services over acomputer network, the method comprising: providing through the networkto a computer linked to the network a manually activatable electroniccommunication that includes an advertisement identifying a category ofgoods or services but that does not identify any vendor from which goodsor services in the identified category may be obtained; and upon manualactivation of the activatable electronic communication, directing abrowser application on the computer to a web page including one or moreadvertisements for goods or services in the identified category.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the manually activatable electroniccommunication is or includes an electronic mail message or a banneradvertisement.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page includestwo or more advertisements for goods or services in the identifiedcategory.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the manually activatableelectronic communication is or includes an electronic mail message or abanner advertisement.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein each of theadvertisements comprises a link through the network to another web pageor pages at which a transaction with a vendor for goods or servicesadvertised by the advertisement may be consummated.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the manually activatable electronic communication is orincludes an electronic mail message or a banner advertisement.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the web page provided upon manual activationof the activatable electronic communication is hosted by a first server,and the web page or web pages to which the one or more advertisementslinks are hosted by one or more other servers.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the manually activatable electronic communication is or includesan electronic mail message or a banner advertisement.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more advertisements included in the web pageidentify one or more vendors from which goods or services in theidentified category may be obtained.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe manually activatable electronic communication is or includes anelectronic mail message or a banner advertisement.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein each of the advertisements comprises a link through thenetwork to another web page or pages at which a transaction with avendor for goods or services advertised by the advertisement may beconsummated.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the manuallyactivatable electronic communication is or includes an electronic mailmessage or a banner advertisement.
 13. The method of claim 11, whereinthe web page provided upon manual activation of the activatableelectronic communication is hosted by a first server, and the web pageor web pages to which the one or more advertisements links are hosted byone or more other servers.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein themanually activatable electronic communication is or includes anelectronic mail message or a banner advertisement.
 15. A method foradvertising goods or services over a computer network, the methodcomprising: providing through the network to a computer linked to thenetwork a manually activatable electronic communication that includes anadvertisement identifying a category of goods or services; and uponmanual activation of the activatable electronic communication, directinga browser application on the computer to a web page including two ormore advertisements from two or more different vendors for goods orservices in the identified category.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinthe manually activatable electronic communication is or includes anelectronic mail message or a banner advertisement.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein each of the advertisements comprises a link throughthe network to another web page or pages at which a transaction with avendor for goods or services advertised by the advertisement may beconsummated.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the manuallyactivatable electronic communication is or includes an electronic mailmessage or a banner advertisement.
 19. The method of 17, wherein the webpage provided upon manual activation of the activatable electroniccommunication is hosted by a first server, and the web page or web pagesto which the one or more advertisements links are hosted by one or moreother servers.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the manuallyactivatable electronic communication is or includes an electronic mailmessage or a banner advertisement.